2getthere’s Group Rapid Transit vehicle passes desert climate test

2getthere’s Group Rapid Tansit (GRT) autonomous vehicle has proven in a simulated desert climate that it can maintain an indoor temperature of 23˚C even in the worst scenario (52˚C outside temperature and 3% humidity). The climate test took place in the Utrecht province and is one of many tests regarding the mega-order received from United Arab Emirates earlier this year. From 2020, five vehicles will perform fully autonomous shuttle services to and from Bluewater Island in Dubai.
October 26, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

8172 2getthere’s Group Rapid Tansit (GRT) autonomous vehicle has proven in a simulated desert climate that it can maintain an indoor temperature of 23˚C even in the worst scenario (52˚C outside temperature and 3% humidity). The climate test took place in the Utrecht province and is one of many tests regarding the mega-order received from United Arab Emirates earlier this year. From 2020, five vehicles will perform fully autonomous shuttle services to and from Bluewater Island in Dubai.

GRT was subject to three tests in weather conditions such as ‘hot dry’ and ‘hot humid’ with a focus on the performance of the air conditioning system (ACS) at the vehicles maximum capacity of 24 passengers.

13 ACS has been developed in collaboration with suppliers DC Airco and Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) who used the simulation of heat management in relation to airflow within the vehicle in its design of the air conditioning. Its development has been partly financed through a 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology research grant in which DC Airco and 2getthere have both participated.

The simulated weather conditions included extremely high temperatures and sun radiation with average peaks in the sun radiation of 1,040 Watts per square metre and peaks in temperature of 52˚C around 3.30pm. In the climatic chamber, both peaks were simulated at the same time.

The GRT’s 16 standing passengers represented 120 Watts each and eight seated passengers each represented 100 Watts were simulated by placing a 3000-Watt heat source inside the vehicle. Part of the test focused on performance during transition: the speed at which indoor conditions are brought back to the most comfortable level for passengers after the doors close and the vehicle starts its journey. The most extreme test was based on the vehicle standing still with the doors open for six minutes, but in actual circumstances much shorter stops will be sufficient to allow 24 passengers to enter the vehicle and find their seats.

According to 2getthere the test marks another step towards the operational deployment of the system, scheduled for 2019/2020.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • xThermal and day/night security camera
    July 25, 2012
    The new Galil from Premier Electronics is a powerful day and night multi-sensor observation head especially developed for security applications. It allows medium-range observation and detection using state-of-the-art thermal imaging and CCD technology.
    Read More
  • Continental invests in EasyMile, pushes ahead with autonomous vehicles
    July 5, 2017
    Technology company Continental has agreed to acquire a minority share French autonomous shuttle manufacturer EasyMile and the companies plan to cooperate closely in the development of environmental sensors, braking systems and driving safety technologies.
    Read More
  • RAC to launch driverless on-demand vehicles in Perth, Western Australia
    September 21, 2018
    RAC has accepted the delivery of a driverless car from Navya which will serve as part of a shared mobility service in Perth, Western Australia. The company says it intends to use the on-demand service to gain a better understanding of the technology and to develop a roadmap for the safe transition to driverless vehicles. RAC works with government and other organisations to ensure its members and the community can move around more sustainably. Terry Agnew, CEO of RAC, says human error is the cause of mos
    Read More
  • Apple cuts 200 staff from Project Titan AV programme
    January 24, 2019
    Tech giant Apple has cut 200 staff from its autonomous vehicle (AV) programme, Project Titan, according to US media reports. Apple is said to describe the changes to Project Titan as a restructuring move. CNBC quotes a company spokesperson as insisting: “We continue to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems, that Apple has unique capabilities to contribute, and that this is the most ambitious machine learning project ever.” The Apple representative continues: “We have an incre
    Read More

Highlighted Content